June 6 Devotion - The Ascension of Christ

 

The disciples were stunned and lost when Jesus was crucified, they lost total hope.

They regained hope when He rose from the dead and was with them again. Then He ascended to the Father.

After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. ¹⁰ As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.

قَالَ هَذَا وَارْتَفَعَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَهُ. ثُمَّ حَجَبَتْهُ سَحَابَةٌ عَنْ أَنْظَارِهِمْ.

¹⁰ وَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ يُحَدِّقُونَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ يَنْطَلِقُ إِلَيْهَا، إِذَا رَجُلاَنِ قَدْ ظَهَرَا لَهُمْ بِثِيَابٍ بِيضٍ،

While they sadly gazed to the heavens the angels told them:

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:9-11

ايها الرجال الجليليون ما بالكم واقفين تنظرون الى السماء. ان يسوع هذا الذي ارتفع عنكم الى السماء سيأتي هكذا كما رأيتموه منطلقا الى السماء.

What the Disciples saw when Jesus was crucified and when He ascended to Heaven was an ending, however God saw both situations as a bright and glorious beginning.

We can apply this lesson to everything that happens to us in life. Some things come to an end however they may be the beginning of something much better. This even applies to a believer’s life where it may be seen as an end however in God’s plan; he/she is starting a bright new beginning.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, as You sent angels to the disciples; to deliver Your message; let me receive Your plan for my life and help me to move from the sorrow and pain of any ending to the joy of Your bright new beginnings. Lord, I thank You for endings that are truly new beginnings. Strengthen my faith Lord to take the next step. Thank You Father God for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me. Lord, I praise You, lift You up on high, and glorify Your holy name. In the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus The Christ, the only begotten Son of God, I pray. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever, Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

June 5 Devotion - I will see it when I believe it

By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.

بِالإيمانِ نَفهَمُ أنَّ الكَونُ خُلِقَ بِأمرِ اللهِ، حَتَّى إنَّ ما يُرَى كُوِّنَ مِمّا لا يُرَى.

Hebrews 11:3

Amplified Bible (AMP)

This verse tells me that I have to look with my eyes of faith because the provision, healing and miracle I need is already available in God’s realm. I believe that I was created by Almighty God to live a blessed and fulfilled life.

I believe that many of us may be living far below the level of what God truly intended for us because we do not have enough faith and imagination to see God’s plan and believe how it could happen. I believe we need to change the paradigm we were raised in which says ‘I will believe in when I see it’ by the more useful and empowering paradigm which says ‘I will see it when I believe it’.

For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.

 لِهَذَا السَّبَبِ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّ مَا تَطْلُبُونَهُ وَتُصَلُّونَ لأَجْلِهِ، فَآمِنُوا أَنَّكُمْ قَدْ نِلْتُمُوهُ، فَيَتِمَّ لَكُمْ.

Mark 11:24  

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can look with my eyes of faith and believe that You have a glorious plan for my life and see it materialize because that which I will see was not made out of things which are visible, as Jesus said “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 Help me Lord to focus on You, not on my circumstances. Help me Lord to pray for things that are aligned with Your will and help me to believe that I have received them, so that You will give them to me. God I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son; my Redeemer, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.’ Ephesians 3:20-21

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

والقادر ان يفعل فوق كل شيء اكثر جدا مما نطلب او نفتكر بحسب القوة التي تعمل فينا

له المجد في الكنيسة في المسيح يسوع الى جميع اجيال دهر الدهور.آمين

June 4 Devotion - Listening for God's Voice

‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

  لَيْسَ بِالْخُبْزِ وَحْدَهُ يَحْيَا الإِنْسَانُ، بَلْ بِكُلِّ كَلِمَةٍ تَخْرُجُ مِنْ فَمِ اللهِ

Matthew 4:4

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Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

هَا أَنَا وَاقِفٌ خَارِجَ الْبَابِ أَقْرَعُهُ. إِنْ سَمِعَ أَحَدٌ صَوْتِي وَفَتَحَ الْبَابَ، أَدْخُلُ إِلَيْهِ فَأَتَعَشَّى مَعَهُ وَهُوَ مَعِي

Revelation 3:20

We learn from Jesus’ actions. Jesus would go alone away from His disciples and spend time in seclusion with The Father. We also learn it from His teachings. In teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus told them to go into their rooms and close the door behind them. He knew that it was vital to take a break from the demands of life and spend time alone praying in order to truly commune with The Father. We need to listen for Jesus’ voice and open the doors of our hearts to let Him in.

The world works against this need. We are captive to mobile phones, e-mails, social media and other technological advances which have brought us the blessing—and the curse—of constant communication.

At some point every day we need to turn off the TV, mobile phone, and computer, and simply listen for God’s voice. Our schedules will not surrender time easily however we need to put first things first, schedule our priorities and create a daily block of time for the Lord.

‘The secret of Listening to God ....Silence is the secret…..

Silence your body to listen to your words, silence your tongue to listen to your thoughts,

Silence your thoughts to listen to your heart beating,

Silence the sound of you heart beating to listen to your spirit, silence your spirit and listen to God's Spirit.

In silence we leave many and be with The One.’  

Mama Maggie

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, help me today and every day to set time aside to pray to You, commune with You and hear Your voice. Teach me Lord to make this a priority over the countless voices demanding my attention. Lord You are my teacher and guide, help me to stop, pray, listen, and hear Your voice distinctively today and every day. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. To Him be the power, the glory and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

June 3 Devotion - Talking with God

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

احمدوا الرب ادعوا باسمه. عرفوا بين الامم باعماله. قُلْتُ لِلرَّبِّ: «أَنْتَ سَيِّدِي. خَيْرِي لاَ شَيْءَ غَيْرُكَ».

 

Psalm 105:1, Psalm 16:2

When we set our hearts toward the Lord, our faith is strengthened, and we develop the habit of talking to Him throughout the day.

God’s word is telling us:  Call upon His name. God loves to hear His name on our lips, and He promises to respond to the prayer that follows. Unfortunately, we try to resolve problems on our own or discuss them with friends and/or relatives instead of immediately turning to God. Imagine calling a believer and instead of offering you empathy, sympathy and support, he/she says, “I appreciate you calling me, and would love to help you, however, have you talked first to God about it? Have you prayed?”

 ^“When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

أَمَّا أَنْتَ، فَعِنْدَمَا تُصَلِّي، فَادْخُلْ غُرْفَتَكَ، وَأَغْلِقِ الْبَابَ عَلَيْكَ، وَصَلِّ إِلَى أَبِيكَ الَّذِي فِي الْخَفَاءِ. وَأَبُوكَ الَّذِي يَرَى فِي الْخَفَاءِ، هُوَ يُكَافِئُكَ.

Mathew 6: 6

At all times and especially as soon as we encounter any kind of problem/challenge let us immediately turn to God and request: Abba Father, guide me in my feelings, thoughts, actions, and words.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, teach me to always seek Your wisdom, guidance and support. Help me to always first ask The Holy Spirit who dwells in me to take over. O my soul, say to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.” Father, create opportunities for me to make Your deeds and blessings known among people. Thank You Father God for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. God I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. I proclaim to the world that Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. In the name of Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, I pray to You Father. To Jesus be the praise, the power, the authority, the glory, the majesty and the dominion since the beginning of time, now, and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein